


Ae Cha & Yu-hwa

by fuwafuwagem



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 14:04:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17122760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuwafuwagem/pseuds/fuwafuwagem





	Ae Cha & Yu-hwa

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fiftyshadesofdes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiftyshadesofdes/gifts).



Ae Cha opened her eyes.

“Wh-where am I?”

Her mouth hung open as she stared at the coffee shop around her. The scent of roasted beans and sweet cakes permeated the air, making her stomach grumble. There was large Christmas tree in the corner, decorated with twinkling fairy lights and gaudy baubles. Ae Cha lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes, but it was no dream. She stood up, her body aching from being curled up in the soft armchair she’d found herself in.

“How did I get here?” she wondered aloud.

**⸎**

Yu-hwa yawned as she entered the information room. She had been up late, working with Ray to improve the security of the system which would be used to hack the RFA’s messenger. She felt like she’d already forgotten half the things her partner had taught her, but she went to sit at her desk and start work regardless.

“Oh! Huh?”

Yu-hwa narrowed her eyes. Her work station was gone, and in its place were countless tables and chairs, a counter, and several display cases which showed off a number of sweet delicacies.

“A… café? How?”

She turned to open the door, wondering if somehow, she’d simply entered the wrong room.

But the door didn’t budge. She was locked in.

**⸎**

Ae Cha’s fingers stroked the curve of the moon-shaped pendant at her throat, and she took tentative steps forward despite the worry that weighed her down. Her eyes widened as she saw something – a long shadow moving up ahead. Ae Cha held her breath, her body shaking and her heart racing wildly, and found the courage to take just one more step.

**⸎**

Yu-hwa wrapped the tips of her pink hair around her finger, nervously manoeuvring between the tables, searching for another way to leave. Her eyes scanned the walls for signs that would lead her to a fire escape, or maybe the bathroom which might have a window she could open. She chewed her lower lip and halted as she saw a shadow moving against the wall.

“Ray?”

**⸎**

_Who’s Ray?_ wondered Ae Cha, her heart pounding at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. She swallowed the lump in her throat, straining her eyes to see who was coming her way.

And then, standing before her was a young woman with soft, cotton candy coloured hair. Ae Cha’s breath caught, her amber eyes widened as they met the deep brown ones of the cafes only other inhabitant.

“Who… who are you?”

The woman’s brow quirked at the question. “Uh, shouldn’t I be asking _you_ that question? What’s your believer ID?”

“My _what?_ ” Ae Cha asked.

“Your ID number,” the woman said, her arms hugging tightly around her torso as if she were the one feeling uncomfortable. “You’ve had your initiation ceremony, right?”

“My what?!” Ae Cha repeated, frustrated by how clueless she appeared to be.

**⸎**

_Who is this girl?_ Yu-hwa wondered as her eyes cast over her face and clothes. _I’ve never seen her before. Where did she come from?_ Yu-hwa took a small step forward, noticing the way the girls body tensed as she did.

“I’m Yu-hwa,” she said, hoping that she could make the stranger feel a little more at ease. “I… work here.”

“At this coffee shop?”

Yu-hwa frowned. “Umm, no actually. I don’t know what this place is. I walked in here by mistake, but the door closed behind me and I can’t get back out.” She sighed. “I’m sure Ray will come looking for me. We can wait together until he finds me if you like.”

“Who’s Ray?” the girl asked, mirroring Yu-hwa’s defensive posture.

“He’s my partner. We work together,” Yu-hwa explained. “I’m sure you’ll like him.”

**⸎**

Ae Cha wasn’t sure why, but she felt safe around Yu-hwa, and something about the way she said Ray’s name made her feel warm. It made her think about her loved ones back home. _Saeyoung… Saeran… I don’t know how I ended up here, but I’ll be home soon._

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s wait together. My name’s Ae Cha.”

Yu-hwa’s face broke into the most beautiful smile, and Ae Cha couldn’t help but smile too.

“Since we’re trapped in a coffee shop, shall we help ourselves to a drink?” Yu-hwa asked. “I think I’d quite like a slice of cake too.”

“Do you think that would be alright?” Ae Cha asked. “I don’t want to steal anything.”

Yu-hwa shrugged. “At Magenta, believers don’t have to pay for food, but I’ll figure something out if that’s not the case here.” Her shoulders drooped as she huffed. “I really thought this was the information room. I don’t have any idea what a coffee shop is doing here.”

Ae Cha didn’t have any answers either, so she made her way behind the counter to the coffee machine and grabbed two cups. “Coffee?”

“How about a hot chocolate?” suggested Yu-hwa. “I’m craving something sweet.”

“Oooh, me too,” Ae Cha chuckled, and began to make a mug for each of them. She watched from the corner of her eye as Yu-hwa stepped nearer and took up two plates. “I’ll have a muffin. Is there a chocolate chip one?”

Yu-hwa checked the display case and smiled. “Yep, and I’ll have a slice of strawberry cheesecake. Shall we sit down?”

Feeling a little calmer than she had when she’d first awoken in the unfamiliar coffee shop, Ae Cha led her new acquaintance to the table she’s originally found herself in, placing the two mugs down before taking a seat. She noticed the way Yu-hwa’s eyes widened at the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” said Ae Cha.

**⸎**

“I hadn’t realised that it was so close to Christmas,” Yu-hwa said, her voice soft with sadness. “It’s so easy to lose track of the time here at Magenta.” She placed her hands around the mug, feeling the heat seeping into her skin. “So much has changed, and in such a short time.”

“What is Magenta?” asked Ae Cha, pulling a chocolate chip from the top of her muffin and popping it into her mouth. “Is it a shopping mall or something?”

Yu-hwa almost spat her laughter. “A mall? No, it’s nothing like that.”

“But it has this coffee shop…”

“This is…” Yu-hwa frowned as she glanced around at the strange surroundings, “…all very new to me.”

Yu-hwa stared down at her fingers, pressed against the searing heat of the mug. She was so sure she had entered the information room, just as she had been doing for months. It all felt too real to be a dream, and yet that was the only thing that seemed to make any sense.

“This is all very odd,” she muttered.

“I don’t even know how I got here,” said Ae Cha. “I went to bed as usual, but when I woke up, I was in this chair.”

Yu-hwa picked up her fork and took a bite of her cheesecake. It tasted real, though she wasn’t sure if it would taste any different in a dream. She looked up at Ae Cha.

“Do you have anyone who would come looking for you once they find that you’re missing?”

Ae Cha nodded. “My boyfriends, Saeran and Saeyoung. They’re pretty… skilled at finding… well, anything.”

“Boyfriends?” Yu-hwa asked, tilting her head. “Plural?”

Ae Cha’s eyes narrowed. “Yes.”

Yu-hwa bit her lip. She wasn’t sure having more people stumbling into Magenta would be a good thing. Having been on the receiving end of the elixir, she didn’t want Ae Cha or her two boyfriends to suffer the way she and Ray had. She took a sip of her hot chocolate, then finally noticed the way she was being glared at. “What?”

“Do you think it’s strange for me to be in a relationship with two people?”

Yu-hwa shrugged. “Not at all, I just hope that Ray finds us before they get too worried.”

“Is Ray your boyfriend?”

Yu-hwa almost choked, the blush heating up her face with immediate effect. “N-no! We work together. He means a lot to me. My life would be a complete mess if not for him, but… we’re not…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence. It hurt, knowing that her heart yearned for him constantly, yet being uncertain if he felt the same way.

“Hmm, it’s the same with Saeyoung and Saeran for me. They’re my heroes. My shoulders to cry on. I didn’t know I needed them so much until they were both there for me. I love them both so much.”

Yu-hwa smiled. The way Ae Cha’s eyes brightened when she spoke of her two lovers filled her chest with a feeling of warmth. She wanted so badly to hold Ray in that moment. She wondered if he’d embrace her in return.

**⸎**

“This is good,” Ae Cha said, taking another bite of her muffin. Her eyes lingered on the lights of the Christmas tree, and they grew blurry as she stifled a yawn.

“Tired?” asked Yu-hwa, leaning beck in her chair.

“A little,” Ae Cha admitted. “I guess waking up in weird places really takes it out of you.” But even as she laughed it off, her lids became heavy and it became a battle to keep them open. “Yu-… hwa…”

The pink haired woman’s head was bowed as if she too were struggling to stay awake. “Was there something… in the…” The sentence remained unfinished as her cheek met the table, and she began to snore softly.

Ae Cha tried to reach out, to shake her shoulder, but…

 

“Good morning!”

“Why do you have to be so loud? Let her sleep.”

“But I made breakfast.”

“Chips are not breakfast! I’ll make her something to eat – once she wakes up!”

Ae Cha sat up, staring around the room. It was one that was familiar; her own bedroom. And the voices that had woken her were ones that she would recognise anywhere.

“Saeyoung! Saeran! You’re here!”

Saeran arched his brow. “Of course we are. We’d wake you if we planned to go out.” He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to stroke his fingers through Ae Cha’s hair. “Did you have a bad dream?”

Ae Cha shook her head. “Not bad, just weird. And it felt so real.”

Saeyoung sat on the other side of the bed with an unopened packet of chips in his hand. “Tell us about it.”

Ae Cha stared ahead as she recalled the vivid dream. “I woke up in a coffee shop, and there was a girl with pink hair. Her name was Yu-hwa, and she said that she worked at Magenta, but she didn’t know how she ended up in that café any more than I did.”

“Yu-hwa?” mumbled Saeran. “At Magenta?”

“Sound familiar?” Saeyoung asked his twin.

Saeran shook his head. “Not at all.”

Ae Cha chewed her lower lip, watching as Saeran searched his memories of his time with Mint Eye.

“Ae-chan,” said Saeyoung, a playful grin twisting his lips. “Did you dream up a Coffee Shop AU with some pink haired cutie?”

Ae Cha blushed, giving Saeyoung a gentle shove as even Saeran chuckled.

“We’re glad to have you back, Ae Cha,” he whispered, and both brothers leaned in to kiss her cheeks on either side.

**⸎**

Yu-hwa lazily opened her eyes at the sensation of her shoulders being gently rocked.

“Yu-hwa?”

She blinked, stretched her back, and looked up into the wide green eyes of Ray, leaning over her with concern written all over his face.

“Oh!” Yu-hwa glanced around the room. The information room, not the coffee shop she had fallen asleep in. “Did you carry me back here?” she asked.

Ray shook his head. “I just got here and saw you sleeping at your desk. I was a little worried.”

“What happened to the café?”

“Café?”

Yu-hwa rubbed her eyes, frowning as she tried to make sense of everything. “Was it really a dream? It was so vivid.”

She felt Ray’s hand, firm yet gentle, stroking her back, grounding her.

“Yu-hwa,” he said softly, in a way that made her heart beat a little faster.

“I’m okay,” she insisted. “It was a strange dream, but I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Ray smiled and didn’t press her for more details. He simply continued to rub her back as she relaxed against his touch.

_Ae Cha… I don’t know who you are, or where you’re from, but I hope that you’re happy and surrounded by those who love you._


End file.
